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''"Placid black water. Barren trees. A boat filled with pale and shivering passengers. That must be the place of the dead, over there on the far bank. Oh good."''<ref name = "a boat trip">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Category:A_boat_trip|Category:A boat trip|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ''"Placid black water. Barren trees. A boat filled with pale and shivering passengers. That must be the place of the dead, over there on the far bank. Oh good."''<ref name = "a boat trip">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Category:A_boat_trip|Category:A boat trip|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ||
Death is a strange thing, needless to say.__forcetoc__ | Death in the Neath is a strange thing, needless to say.__forcetoc__ | ||
==Not Again== | ==Not Again== | ||
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</ref> Death's elusiveness has caused some... changes in London's society. Serial killers such as [[Jack-of-Smiles]] aren't nearly as feared as those on the Surface, and the game of [[Knife-and-Candle]] basically consists of players competitively murdering each other. Furthermore, the elusiveness of death led to significant revisions of the Bible, thanks to [[The Church|God's Editors]]. All are not free from mortality's grip, however, being chopped up or dying of natural causes is often permanent.Those who die many, many times often become [[The Tomb-Colonies|tomb-colonists]], especially when their ages and scars catch up to them.<ref name = "snippets"/> | </ref> Death's elusiveness has caused some... changes in London's society. Serial killers such as [[Jack-of-Smiles]] aren't nearly as feared as those on the Surface, and the game of [[Knife-and-Candle]] basically consists of players competitively murdering each other. Furthermore, the elusiveness of death led to significant revisions of the Bible, thanks to [[The Church|God's Editors]]. All are not free from mortality's grip, however, being chopped up or dying of natural causes is often permanent.Those who die many, many times often become [[The Tomb-Colonies|tomb-colonists]], especially when their ages and scars catch up to them.<ref name = "snippets"/> | ||
People who die in the Neath, whether temporarily or permanently, end up on '''a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river''', which | People who die in the Neath, whether temporarily or permanently, end up on '''a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river''', which serves as a limbo of sorts. This mysterious realm consists of two shores and a river. The dead await the boat on one shore, and the deceased go to the other side to rest. The dead that pass here have neither bodies nor souls, as both facets of their being still exist in the world of the living.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Remember_where_you_fell|Remember where you fell|Fallen London|}}</ref> The land of the dead is completely disconnected from the land of the living, though on occasion, items such as spectacles may cross over.<ref name = "the shallows">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"The Skittish Engineer waves his spectacles as you draw the boat up to the bank. "Incredible that these passed over with me. I can't tell if they're clean or not.""''</ref> | ||
===The Far Shore=== | ===The Far Shore=== | ||
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''"Well, apparently he plays chess in paintings and folk-songs. Which are always accurate, of course."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Play_chess_with_the_Boatman|Play chess with the Boatman|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ''"Well, apparently he plays chess in paintings and folk-songs. Which are always accurate, of course."''<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/Play_chess_with_the_Boatman|Play chess with the Boatman|Fallen London|}}</ref> | ||
'''The Boatman''' is the Neath's Grim Reaper; it is his job to ferry the spirits of the dead across the river to the far shore. The Boatman appears to the dead as a skeletal figure, always wearing a | '''The Boatman''' is the Neath's Grim Reaper; it is his job to ferry the spirits of the dead across the river to the far shore. The Boatman appears to the dead as a skeletal figure, always wearing a brimmed top hat and possessing a softly glowing lantern.<ref name = "passing on">{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"That skull looks directly at you. Those fingerbones beckon you forwards. Into your left hand, he places his lantern, a solitary candle burning within. Into your right hand, he places his oar, scratched but formidable. [...] he lifts the hat from his head and places it on yours."''</ref> He has a special fondness for chess and dice, and winning against him may grant a spirit a little more time in the lands of the living.<ref name = "a boat trip"/> | ||
The job of the Boatman seems to be a bequeathed one to some extent, as the current Boatman is actually capable of passing on his position to those who seek it.<ref name = "passing on"/> Taking up the Boatman's oars gives the recipient a skeletal appearance,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You have taken on the mantle of the Boatman. To the dead, you will appear skeletal, sinister; the embodiment of Death."''</ref> though those who have died several times are sometimes capable of telling the | The job of the Boatman seems to be a bequeathed one to some extent, as the current Boatman is actually capable of passing on his position to those who seek it.<ref name = "passing on"/> Taking up the Boatman's oars gives the recipient a skeletal appearance,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You have taken on the mantle of the Boatman. To the dead, you will appear skeletal, sinister; the embodiment of Death."''</ref> though those who have died several times are sometimes capable of telling the Boatmen apart.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"Eventually, he steps over the wooden side. "You're not the real Boatman," he says."''</ref> The Boatman is actually capable of looking into the memories of the dying, which can be useful for gathering intel,<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"When you concentrate, you share the images he sees. A coat hook; vent schematics; a spilled glass of wine. Is this some power the Boatman holds?"''</ref> and he is held in his boat by a mysterious force; there must always be a Boatman, to prevent the dead from piling up on the near shore.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://fallenlondon.fandom.com/wiki/The_Shallows|The Shallows|Fallen London|}} ''"You can't seem to leave the boat and walk towards the realms of the living. What is this force that holds you? "There has to be a Boatman," the previous Boatman says. "Otherwise, the dead would simply build up here, on the border.""''</ref> | ||
==The High Wilderness== | ==The High Wilderness== | ||
Dying in [[the High Wilderness]] | Dying in [[the High Wilderness]] sends a spirit to [[the Blue Kingdom]], an ''enormous'' bureaucracy that processes the dead.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_Blue_Kingdom|The Blue Kingdom|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> The spirits who roam the Kingdom are called '''shades''' and they often wear white, porcelain masks.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Served_by_Shades|Served by Shades|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> All sorts of creatures, including animals, end up in the Blue Kingdom.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Airs_of_the_Blue_Kingdom|Airs of the Blue Kingdom|Sunless Skies|}} ''"A crowd of masked spirits passes you: an elephant, a giraffe, two cats, a little boy, and many others."''</ref> Those who are dead are considered Ephemera by the Kingdom's bureaucracies, and are eventually sent to [[Death's Door]].<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/Sky_Barnet|What is Ephemera status?|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> But those who are deemed unworthy of passing through, such as immortality seekers, often end up in [[the White Well]]<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/The_White_Well|The Stone-Faced Court|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> or simply fade into nothing.<ref>{{FLCitation|https://sunlessskies.gamepedia.com/An_Encounter_in_the_Blue_Kingdom|Make the writhing spirit as comfortable as possible|Sunless Skies|}}</ref> | ||
==References== | ==References== | ||
<references/>[[Category:Other Things of Significance]] | <references/>[[Category:Other Things of Significance]] | ||
Revision as of 00:35, 25 August 2019
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Beyond this point lie major spoilers for Fallen London, Sunless Sea, Sunless Skies, or Mask of the Rose. This may include endgame or major Fate-locked spoilers. Proceed at your own risk. You can find out more about our spoiler policy here. |
"Placid black water. Barren trees. A boat filled with pale and shivering passengers. That must be the place of the dead, over there on the far bank. Oh good."[1]
Death in the Neath is a strange thing, needless to say.
Not Again
"Death in the Fifth City isn't necessarily the end. If you're stabbed or shot, someone may come along and sew you back together soon enough. If you're drowned, you'll wake with a hangover. If you die of old age or disease, or if you're hacked to pieces, it's a more serious matter. But in any case, once you die and return to life down here, you'll never be permitted to return to the surface...unless you're one of the few who find a way to immortality."[2]
Thanks to the light of Stone, people who die in places such as London may recover from death; those who die far out in the Unterzee often aren't so lucky.[3] Death's elusiveness has caused some... changes in London's society. Serial killers such as Jack-of-Smiles aren't nearly as feared as those on the Surface, and the game of Knife-and-Candle basically consists of players competitively murdering each other. Furthermore, the elusiveness of death led to significant revisions of the Bible, thanks to God's Editors. All are not free from mortality's grip, however, being chopped up or dying of natural causes is often permanent.Those who die many, many times often become tomb-colonists, especially when their ages and scars catch up to them.[2]
People who die in the Neath, whether temporarily or permanently, end up on a slow boat passing a dark beach on a silent river, which serves as a limbo of sorts. This mysterious realm consists of two shores and a river. The dead await the boat on one shore, and the deceased go to the other side to rest. The dead that pass here have neither bodies nor souls, as both facets of their being still exist in the world of the living.[4] The land of the dead is completely disconnected from the land of the living, though on occasion, items such as spectacles may cross over.[5]
The Far Shore
"The ground erupts. Grey, wizened figures scrabble from walls of meat, clawing at one another, fingers locked in bone and socket, dragging at your wrists and ankles, tangling hair and tendons. With cracked tongues they beg for transport, promising grisly favours for one day's respite."[6]
The Boatman
"Well, apparently he plays chess in paintings and folk-songs. Which are always accurate, of course."[7]
The Boatman is the Neath's Grim Reaper; it is his job to ferry the spirits of the dead across the river to the far shore. The Boatman appears to the dead as a skeletal figure, always wearing a brimmed top hat and possessing a softly glowing lantern.[8] He has a special fondness for chess and dice, and winning against him may grant a spirit a little more time in the lands of the living.[1]
The job of the Boatman seems to be a bequeathed one to some extent, as the current Boatman is actually capable of passing on his position to those who seek it.[8] Taking up the Boatman's oars gives the recipient a skeletal appearance,[9] though those who have died several times are sometimes capable of telling the Boatmen apart.[10] The Boatman is actually capable of looking into the memories of the dying, which can be useful for gathering intel,[11] and he is held in his boat by a mysterious force; there must always be a Boatman, to prevent the dead from piling up on the near shore.[12]
The High Wilderness
Dying in the High Wilderness sends a spirit to the Blue Kingdom, an enormous bureaucracy that processes the dead.[13] The spirits who roam the Kingdom are called shades and they often wear white, porcelain masks.[14] All sorts of creatures, including animals, end up in the Blue Kingdom.[15] Those who are dead are considered Ephemera by the Kingdom's bureaucracies, and are eventually sent to Death's Door.[16] But those who are deemed unworthy of passing through, such as immortality seekers, often end up in the White Well[17] or simply fade into nothing.[18]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Category:A boat trip, Fallen London
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Sidebar Snippets, Fallen London
- ↑ Go ashore with the Adventuress, Sunless Sea
- ↑ Remember where you fell, Fallen London
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "The Skittish Engineer waves his spectacles as you draw the boat up to the bank. "Incredible that these passed over with me. I can't tell if they're clean or not.""
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London
- ↑ Play chess with the Boatman, Fallen London
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Shallows, Fallen London "That skull looks directly at you. Those fingerbones beckon you forwards. Into your left hand, he places his lantern, a solitary candle burning within. Into your right hand, he places his oar, scratched but formidable. [...] he lifts the hat from his head and places it on yours."
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "You have taken on the mantle of the Boatman. To the dead, you will appear skeletal, sinister; the embodiment of Death."
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "Eventually, he steps over the wooden side. "You're not the real Boatman," he says."
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "When you concentrate, you share the images he sees. A coat hook; vent schematics; a spilled glass of wine. Is this some power the Boatman holds?"
- ↑ The Shallows, Fallen London "You can't seem to leave the boat and walk towards the realms of the living. What is this force that holds you? "There has to be a Boatman," the previous Boatman says. "Otherwise, the dead would simply build up here, on the border.""
- ↑ The Blue Kingdom, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Served by Shades, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Airs of the Blue Kingdom, Sunless Skies "A crowd of masked spirits passes you: an elephant, a giraffe, two cats, a little boy, and many others."
- ↑ What is Ephemera status?, Sunless Skies
- ↑ The Stone-Faced Court, Sunless Skies
- ↑ Make the writhing spirit as comfortable as possible, Sunless Skies
